Dean Guitar: Tradition AK48

The Dean Tradition AK48, while a cheap guitar, has a fairly good tone. So, avoid spending a small fortune and consider this decent sounding, entry-level guitar.

At just ~$219, the AK48 has a spruce top and mahogany back and sides and is built on a dreadnought body which gives it a big sound thanks to the depth of body and breadth of shoulders. Unfortunately while the overall tone is fairly decent, it could be a lot better.It is an accepted fact that beginning guitarists tend to lose interest fairly quickly, especially if the guitar that they are learning on does not give them a good return on tone, volume and overall sound. This is where the tradeoff occurs, for while you may not want to spend a lot on a beginning guitar, you may be cutting your own throat by not purchasing a higher quality guitar.

One of the main problems with this guitar is that it tends to lose its tuning fairly quickly. This means that the big sound that you project is sometimes not the quality of sound that you would like to be projecting. This would be a decidedly better instrument if it had a solid spruce top instead of a select spruce top, but the transparent finish gives this piece a very upbeat look that may be a tradeoff for some people.

Believe it or not, you can actually get a solid top model acoustic guitar, specifically the Fender CD140s, for less than the AK48. That’s right, for just ~$199 the Fender CD-140S gives you a solid cedar top and mahogany back and sides. While the Fender is by no means top of the line, its overall tone blows the Dean out of the water. And you can spend the money you save towards a Fender Tim Armstrong Hellcat Acoustic Guitar Case. However, if you don’t mind the difference in tone, the Dean Tradition AK48 does make an inexpensive choice.

Comments for Dean Guitar: Tradition AK48

I have a Dean Tradition AK 48 that I bought about 5 or six years ago. It has a pretty good tone
and stays in tune pretty well. I'm a bit confused,
however. Is it a solid or laminated top?
I don't like the bridge but it probably take too
much work and money to change it.

Mar 20, 2012Rating

PrettyNEWby: Gtaham

Save your money. This is a pretty face with a good name but no substance. Buy a solid-top guitar. The others are just campfire axes at best....